Output of the NF DD pickups versus Fender Noiseless pickups.

[Blutone]

Hi everyone, has anyone done a comparison between the output of the NF3 pickups and that of either a Silver Sky or Fender Strat noiseless pickups?
I recently got myself a Strat with the Gen 4 noiseless pups and I was expecting the output to be lower than that of my SE Starla but the jump is huge. I was wondering if I should expect the same with the NF3 when comparing the two? Ironically I live 10 minutes away from PRS Europe and sadly my only guitar shop in Cambridge isn't stocking them yet so I can't do that comparison...

 

[direwolf08]

Can't help you with a comparison, but only chiming in to say that I just bought an American Ultra Strat that I am super excited about (hasn't gotten to me yet). It has the Noiseless pickups as well and I can't wait to compare them to my PRS'es.

 

[Blutone]

Hope you enjoy! I was surprised by the range of tones I get on mine which is a Japanese Modern.

 

[Bowtiefanatc]

I mean, you’re comparing HBs to Singles…

And the SE pickups are quite different to the US ones.

 

[Blutone]

Absolutely, but if the NF pups are trying to be an alternative to singles then it seems logical to wonder if the output is being designed to be similar? Maybe they work in a similar way to that of stacked single coils etc

 

[direwolf08]

I mean, you’re comparing HBs to Singles…

And the SE pickups are quite different to the US ones.

Kinda, but the question is still valid. The NF's are two coils wound side by side, the Fender noiseless are two coils stacked one on top of the other. So, just a matter of how the two coils are oriented.

 

[VHTStark]

I don't know about the DD narrowfields in the NF53 model but the narrowfields in my old NF3 Core are noticeably hotter than any true single coil or noiseless single I have tried.

 

[DreamTheaterRules]

Absolutely, but if the NF pups are trying to be an alternative to singles then it seems logical to wonder if the output is being designed to be similar? Maybe they work in a similar way to that of stacked single coils etc

Yes, and the new NF pickups aren't the same as the old ones. Mine are "57/08 NF" pickups. The specs are the same (output) as the regular 57/08's but on deeper, narrow coils. These new ones, for example in the T style guitar, are would much closer to single coil output. And... there is no comment yet on if any of the other new models with NFs use exactly those, or if they are would more like HB specs, or somewhere in between.

While different, the new NF SE model has been getting a TON of love online... but no word on specs on those either.

So, your OP was a great question and one that probably a lot of people are interested in. As these new models filter into the market, we'll get more people checking them out and reporting here, hopefully.

I think the NF platform is Paul's new playground and we may see specs on "NF" pickups that vary by guitar. At least, I hope so. The premise is great!

 

[Blutone]

Yes, and the new NF pickups aren't the same as the old ones. Mine are "57/08 NF" pickups. The specs are the same (output) as the regular 57/08's but on deeper, narrow coils. These new ones, for example in the T style guitar, are would much closer to single coil output. And... there is no comment yet on if any of the other new models with NFs use exactly those, or if they are would more like HB specs, or somewhere in between.

While different, the new NF SE model has been getting a TON of love online... but not word on specs on those either.

So, your OP was a great question and one that probably a lot of people are interested in. As these new models filter into the market, we'll get more people checking them out and reporting here, hopefully.

I think the NF platform is Paul's new playground and we may see specs on "NF" pickups that vary by guitar. At least, I hope so. The premise is great!

Thanks for your comments. I am totally intrigued and can't wait to try and NF3 out. I love the 25" scale and it would be interesting to see how it works with gain etc. The more I look into this the more I see the innovation. It is fascinating.

 

[Blutone]

I don't know about the DD narrowfields in the NF53 model but the narrowfields in my old NF3 Core are noticeably hotter than any true single coil or noiseless single I have tried.

Thanks for that. I would expect a hotter output but equally I could see PRS dialling the output down so as to rival Strat pups this getting the tone and gain level in the right place.

 

[Broseph]

Been a while since I had a “noiseless” Strat pickup. I recall them being nice, approaching single coil, but usually slightly hotter.

I have single coiled size humbuckers in my superstrat (SD lil 59, sd duck bucker, and full sd custom custom bridge) that are perfect for me. No hum. Smoother, rounder than my NF3 SE. The NF3 is louder than my regular Strat. It has significant more treble (and single coil tones) than my superStrat, but not nearly the output as the Seymour pickups.

 

[NiceBrightColors]

I have never played the NF3 pickups, but I’ve played lots of Strats, including noiseless. I am also no expert in pickup design, but from my basic understanding I do not think it is possible to have HBs with as low as output as you can get with single coils, just because HBs by nature of their design have more wire, and more wire gets you more output. Talking averages here, the lowest output HBs could be lower than the highest output singles, but on average HBs will be higher. This has been my experience. Even the noiseless Strat pickups are higher output than real single coils, since noiseless pickups are HBs. Silver Sky pickups will have a lower output than the noiseless pickups because of this. This is why I personally prefer traditional single coils in my Strats, that sound and output just can’t be replicated with HBs. Things are getting closer, but it’s still not the same.

From my limited understanding, the PRS TCI process tunes the frequency response of the pickups to get a the desired sound. But, this is not necessarily equivalent to a lower output. So, the NF3s may sound closer to a traditional single coil than others but they will not necessarily have the lower output of single coils.

I suppose it all depends on what you are after. Are you wanting to get the single coil sound? You can get fairly close with the right HBs (noiseless or some of the TCI tuned ones for this). Or, are you trying to have a lower output to not push your amp as hard? It is more difficult to try and match the output of single coils with HBs.

 

[Blutone]

Been a while since I had a “noiseless” Strat pickup. I recall them being nice, approaching single coil, but usually slightly hotter.

I have single coiled size humbuckers in my superstrat (SD lil 59, sd duck bucker, and full sd custom custom bridge) that are perfect for me. No hum. Smoother, rounder than my NF3 SE. The NF3 is louder than my regular Strat. It has significant more treble (and single coil tones) than my superStrat, but not nearly the output as the Seymour pickups.

That's really useful information. Thank you for sharing that!